Knight
by Shenkan Mugen
Summary: The man he was unable to die beside was like a brother to him. They may have been buried side by side, but it didn't matter. Given another chance by novice lady knight..


_If I could live again_

_If I could live with all my knowledge_

_If I could change the world with what I know_

_With all my experience_

_I would only live to find you_

_So that we may leave once more_

_Together_

"I don't need help from some stupid boy!" shouted Mira, outraged by the young man trying to assist her, though her legs were cut to ribbons and crimson blood leaked from her body, weakening her. Even her sleek black hair was matted with blood and hanging in her face. "Boys think girls can't fight, but I'm no ordinary girl! That's what my oldest brother taught me before he died!"  
  
"Fine," he murmured. "Get yourself killed for all I care." He took one last look at the large reptile, ready to strike. With his fingers running through his short brown hair he grinned and his eyes shone bright blue. He began to leave.  
  
"W-wait," Mira said hoarsely, taking a step back. "You mean you're really gonna leave me like this?" Nicholas didn't have time to answer. The enormous green, scaly tail took him by surprise and knocked the wind out of him, despite his many protective leather layers.  
  
"I thought..." he began, "You didn't need some stupid guy's help..." He clenched his stomach where the tail had hit. The serpent was angry and was going to bite the girl. He had to do something.  
  
"I take it back, I'm sorry," she almost whispered, her brown eyes filling with tears. She did not want to die. Not now. Nicholas smirked.  
  
With motions as quick as Mira could trace with her mortal eyes, he pulled a broadsword from its sheath and leapt toward the beast. Before it could react, he had sliced its head down the middle and landed gracefully on his heavy boots. Mira gagged as the creature fell to pieces. It was an unpleasant sight.  
  
"You're an experienced knight, aren't you?" asked Mira, shielding her eyes from the bloody mass of serpent insides. Nicholas was silent. "I'm sorry about before, really." Still silent.  
  
Mira sighed. "I had seven brothers, and almost every one of them thought I was worthless, except the eldest." She lowered her head and smiled. She sure looked like a worthless girl, garbed in whatever seemed suitable for fighting among her small wardrobe. "I thought becoming a knight would impress the others, but I don't know what the heck I'm doing." She shook her head and tears streamed down her face.  
  
A large, icy lump had formed in her throat and she sobbed uncontrollably. "I don't know how to do anything." She looked up to Nicholas, expecting consoling words, but he was not there. "Hey, where are you?" Mira checked the surrounding trees searchingly, her hands on her pink silk covered knees.  
  
"I spill my heart out to you, and you're not even here to listen!" After wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she gathered her things and continued down the road, searching for water to clean her hair and her black tunic. For all she knew, she would never see the boy again. Not that she cared. But Mira did not like to be alone, and soon her fear overcame her once more.  
  
Every step she made a sound that jerked her back into reality. The leaves and sticks crunched below her feet as she tried to slip away into a world without monsters and danger. Or even war. The wars in her country had killed her brothers. Every one of them.  
  
The people had driven her out because she was only a young girl. She was useless to them. "I don't want to be alone." Mira paused in the middle of the road and allowed her feet to sink into the mud a quarter of an inch, coating her sandaled feet in muck. The wind whipped at her face and chilled her.  
  
Something was amiss. She could feel it. Her ears picked up every sound. Every leaf crunching echoed throughout, and every twig snapping as well.

For a moment she was paralyzed by fear. Did the ground just move? She looked around urgently. Mira was certain it wasn't her imagination. She had felt something below her move.  
  
She shivered and glanced at the ground below. It _was_ moving! Suddenly a hand broke free of the soft dirt and grabbed her ankle. Mira's eyes grew wide and she screamed in fright. The hand was clammy and almost white. The more she screamed the tighter it gripped her ankle. "I am alive... And I will seek you out as well," said a raspy, muffled voice from below. She was standing in a grave!  
  
Mira was completely paralyzed. A head began to show among the dirt. "I am alive... And I will seek you out as well!" A look of pure terror shown on the thing's face. "I will seek you out! I will rescue you..." Its upper body broke free. "Zaar!"  
  
Far off Nicholas heard Mira's shrieks of terror and decided to help the girl once more, but then she was on her own. With amazing speed he raced off in the direction of her screams.

"You're far away now," rasped the voice, "but I will seek you out." The creature pulled on Mira's ankle to escape from the grave, but she mistook it for an attempt to pull her down into the earth and began to kick at it. "Ouch... Cut it out." Mira looked down. Creatures from the fiery pits in the center of the earth didn't often say "ouch."  
  
"What are you?" she asked, leaning down to get a better look. The creature looked up at her with soulful eyes and she reared back. It was just a young girl. A pretty one. Her eyes were as deep a brown and her hair as dark a black as Mira's.  
  
"What's an innocent girl doing in the ground? Were you playing a joke on me?" She smiled.  
  
"I'm..." he murmured, "I'm... a boy."  
  
"Oh my!" exclaimed Mira. "I'm sorry!" She began to laugh nervously. "It's dark. I couldn't tell." The boy smirked.  
  
"What were you doing down there? You really scared me." He opened his mouth to speak, but Nicholas came out of nowhere and pulled Mira's ankle from his grasp. "Hey!" She struggled, but Nicholas held her by the arms.  
  
"Good lord, what are you!" cried Nicholas. He dragged Mira to safety, but she continued to struggle.  
  
"Wait, please," said the boy. "Don't..." Nicholas withdrew a dagger from his leather sash and glared angrily.  
  
"No!" shouted Mira, breaking free. She knocked the dagger from Nicholas's hand and wrestled him to the ground. While she tried to hold him still, the boy freed himself from his underground prison and approached the two. Nicholas gaped at him, and beads of sweat ran down his forehead. Even Mira was a little apprehensive. But the boy turned the other way.  
  
"My name is Kiir," he stated with a smile. "Thank you for releasing me."  
  
"You were buried there!" divulged Mira. "You're dead, aren't you?" She released Nicholas and scurried to her feet.  
  
"I was," Kiir affirmed. "But I have been given another chance." Nicholas, who was on his feet again, pulled her back once more.  
  
"The girl has no such powers!" Nicholas exhorted. "You're probably some kind of illusion. Tell us what you really are!"  
  
"Some would call me a zombie," he enunciated. Nicholas reared back with a firm grip on Mira's wrist. Kiir turned to face them, and the rising sun illuminated his face, scuffed by cuts and dried blood. His clothes were heavy with dry blood. He did look dead.  
  
"You fear the word 'zombie' because you do not know its true meaning. I am not an unholy creature." He took a step towards them. "Everyone has the chance to leave their graves. This girl... Her fear... I felt it. It woke me up."

Nicholas continued to stare and backed away. "It all sounds so illogical, doesn't it?" Kiir grinned and ran his fingers through his hair. "The desire to live was almost enough. I had a reason to live. A good one. I simply needed someone to wake up my soul."  
  
"And we're supposed to believe a word of that?" Nicholas scoffed. "What do you want with the girl? If you want to kill her I won't let you."  
  
"Why don't you just back off?" growled Mira, slipping away once again. "I believe him!"  
  
"How could you believe a stupid story like that?" he breathed through gritted teeth. "You stupid girl, he wants to kill you!"  
  
"I can take care of myself!" she cried. "I believe this boy and I want to help him, so go find a monster to kill or a maiden to save (besides me of course) and stay out of my life!"  
  
"You idiot, I'll just let you die then!" he shouted. He stomped down the road without a second glance at Mira or the zombie boy. He was probably having a stupid dream anyway. None of it was real. No one was in danger. He had no reason to feel guilty. This girl didn't deserve to be saved anyway.  
  
Mira looked back at Kiir, then to Nicholas. "H-hey wait a minute!" she called after him. "You're just going to leave me here?" Nicholas turned on his heel and faced her, his face red with anger.  
  
"WHY DON'T YOU JUST MAKE UP YOUR MIND?" he roared. "DO YOU WANT ME TO STAY OR NOT?"  
  
"I'm..." sniffed Mira, "I'm sorry... I just..."  
  
"Now wait a minute," said Kiir. "I can take care of this myself. I never expected you to offer to assist me."  
  
"But I..." whimpered Mira, "I think I can do this..." She lowered her head and sighed.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"He's been wandering for some time now," the old man croaked. He took a hearty puff of his pipe and thick gray smoke eluded from his lips and drifted out into the streets, blending with the fog.  
  
"Grandpa, you shouldn't smoke your pipe so often," his daughter murmured, poking her head out from the doorway of the shack-like home. "Not around Benjamin, anyway. You'll get him into the habit."  
  
"If you're not gonna listen, mind your own business," he ordered sternly, his brow cocked. The young woman sighed and continued her work inside her house as her son listened intently to the old man. "He wanders around the town like a ghost; forgotten where he is and what he was meant to do. He's a spirit tha' weren't put to rest yet, I think. A spirit lookin' fer somethin'."  
  
The man took another puff of his pipe, his eyes looking as gray and clouded as the smoke. "He's ou' there now. Ou' on the foggiest end o' the street." With a quivering hand he pointed out the tall, ghostly man with the eyes of one who had died and returned to earth with no notice. His movements were slow and untrusting, and he walked as if he had been wandering the streets his entire life, searching for what he so wished to possess while turning in his grave.  
  
"Grampa, he's kinda scary lookin'," the boy squeaked, the hairs on his neck standing on end. "What's he looking for?"  
  
"Your old grandpa 'as learned a lot over the years," he rasped with a distant look in his face. "But he knows nothin' about the intentions of ghosts."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Just as I thought," Kiir mumbled, on his knees, looking into the empty grave of his friend. "He's long gone now."  
  
"But how?" Mira asked softly. Kiir got to his feet and patted his muddy knees.  
  
"I'm not really sure," he admitted with a smile. "Some things just have no logical explanation."  
  
"So you're saying he crawled out of his grave on his own?" Nicholas jested, rolling his eyes. Sitting against a tree with his legs crossed, he cleaned the bottom of his boot with a knife.  
  
"Maybe," Kiir said coolly. "If I can do it, he can as well." Nicholas scowled.  
  
"What now then?" asked Mira. Kiir looked at her, a little surprised.  
  
"You mean you want to know what's next?" he queried. She nodded. "Well, I'm not sure if you'll be able to assist me. He could be miles away. In a different country."  
  
"Please, allow me to help you," Mira pleaded. "What better way to prove my worth than to do a good deed?"  
  
"There are other ways to prove that you have what it takes to become a knight," Kiir muttered, gazing off through the trees. She sighed and lowered her head, and Nicholas jumped to his feet.  
  
"Girl, if you want to become a knight, I can train you," he offered with a half smile. "No need to go out and get yourself killed." Mira smirked and sighed once more.  
  
"But how long could that take?" she replied. "Maybe I'm not cut out for training... But this is something I really believe I can do." She stood and faced Nicholas. "I'm sorry. I have no choice but to assist this boy."  
  
Nicholas frowned and nodded. "I'm going with you then," he declared, tightening the many straps and buckles holding gear and weapons in place. Mira gaped at him.  
  
"But why?" she debated. "Why do you feel you have to follow me everywhere?"  
  
"I can't let a pretty little girl like you get hurt," he said with a grin. "I had similar problems with my siblings, and if its praise you seek, I'll help you find it." He continued to secure his weapons and traveling gear, and Mira giggled.  
  
"Thank you," she breathed, her brown eyes sparkling with joy. With their help, she would seek out the praise and strength she desired.  
  
"Well if everyone's prepared," Kiir enunciated, "We'll be on our way." Mira felt a little ashamed of herself, for she carried only one weapon. A dagger was concealed within the black sash of her tunic. But the company of two supposedly experienced knights gave her much consolation.  
  
"Alright," she said with a grin. "I'm ready for this."  
  
They set off down the road while the sun was high and the breeze shook the branches of the maples surrounding their path.  
  
"At least... I think I am."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Hey kid, get over here," whispered a voice from behind the young boy. Eight-year-old Benjamin Thom had been sent out for bread by his mother, and now hesitantly eyed the alleyway behind him, clutching the small, dry loaf with great anxiety, the spare change rattling in his pockets as he trembled. A head poked out from the alley and the boy jumped, nearly dropping the loaf of bread he had been sent to fetch.

"Come on, kid. I don't have all day." It was the ghost man. Benjamin gaped at the tall, intimidating man and took a step back. "Hey now, I won't hurt you." He fished around in his pocket for a tribute to the boy. "Here, I've got some money for you to bring home to your family." He offered a handful of gold. "Do you trust me now?"

Benjamin looked from the gold to the man's face, and noticed his kind, trustworthy eyes. He nodded and took a few steps forward. Close enough to hear, but still keeping his distance. The man gave him the gold and Benjamin crammed it into his pockets.

"You see those soldiers out there?" He pointed over the boy's shoulder to some spear wielding men in armor patrolling the streets. Benjamin glanced over his shoulder and nodded.

"They've been looking for something for weeks," he commented, looking back to the man.

"Yes, I've noticed..." the ghost man replied. "I overheard some of them talking... And I'm afraid they may attack the residence of the city. So go to your family and try to persuade them to leave the area for a while. I'm afraid I may be at fault for this sudden change of plans."

"Attack the townspeople?" he cried, his mouth open wide. One of the soldiers turned their head, but the man had already pulled the boy to safety in the back of the alley. The soldier shrugged and continued to scout the streets.

"Hush now," the man whispered, his hand over the boy's mouth. "If you tell anyone else, you didn't hear it from me." He nodded. "My name is Zaar." The man held out his hand. Benjamin grasped it with both hands and shook.

"I've seen you around a lot, Mister," he said, looking at his feet. "Why do you wander around all day?"

"I have the same intentions as the soldiers," Zaar replied. "I'm looking for something. And I pray to God I find it first."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Kiir, come on!" called Mira. "We can't wait for you all day!" Nicholas scowled and scratched his chin.

"You always call him by name," he muttered. Mira gave him a friendly shove and continued to look for Kiir.

"He better not have left us out here," Mira murmured. "We didn't sleep that late, did we?" Before Nicholas could answer, he felt a light tap on the head. He looked up questioningly. A twig had fallen on his head from one of the tree branches above. Kiir sat in the nearest oak waving innocently.

"What're you doing up there?" asked Nicholas, glaring at the boy.

"I was getting a good look at our path ahead," replied Kiir. He dropped from the branch and landed gracefully on his feet. "We have a long way to go." Mira turned around to face him.

"I'm so hungry," she moaned, taking a seat on the ground, her stomach growling.

"Unfortunately, we may not be eating until we reach town," said Kiir. Mira sighed and collapsed on a patch of dirt, her hair spread over the ground.

"We have to get out of this forest," she mumbled. Pulling her knees to her chest she rolled over on her side and closed her eyes, ignoring her fierce hunger. Nicholas sat beside her, famished as well.

"Come on, now!" exclaimed Kiir. "Don't give in now! We'll never make it out of here if you do nothing but complain!" Nicholas fumed and jumped to his feet.

"What do you know about being hungry?" he cried, getting up in Kiir's face. "You're dead! In case you haven't noticed, we're not!"

Kiir didn't blink. "That's not very chivalrous of you," he commented. Nicholas gaped and Kiir turned in the direction of the sun and pointed.

"The nearest city is in that direction," he said. "I'm going this way. If you want to live, you'll follow me."

"No way am I following you," Nicholas growled, his fists clenched. "You'll get us lost. I don't trust you. I'm going my own way."

"Shut up," groaned Mira, her eyes still closed. "We're following Kiir. He knows what he's doing."

"I'm not going to listen to _you_," Nicholas mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Don't be stupid!" Mira shouted, attempting to stand. "Just grow up, alright? Some knight _you _are." Nicholas sighed.

"Alright, alright," he said, waving it away. "Let's just go before we're at each others' throats. Mira, I don't want to have to fight you. Really. And Kiir..." He looked up. Kiir was nowhere in sight. "Hey, where'd that guy go?" Mira was gone too. "HEY! WAIT FOR ME!"

Nicholas glanced around the forest and began to run, trying to catch up to the others.


End file.
